Rising from the Ashes The Heiress They Tried to Erase Novel

Chapter 1076 Chapter 1077: He had spent years guarding his secret, never once letting his true identity slip. There was a simple reason for that: anyone who ever discovered the truth was long gone. "You left me no choice. Don't hold it against me." A dangerous glimmer sparked in Austen's eyes. He spoke under his breath, every word heavy. "Maia, your time is up." A fleeting thought of Rosanna crossed his mind, and a faint smile curled his lips. At first, he'd made the offer to help Rosanna with Maia without giving much thought.

Now, with his mind made up to eliminate Maia, he would be fulfilling Rosanna's wish at the same time. "I'll wait until Rosanna wakes up and see what she's got in mind. Nothing beats watching someone else handle the mess while your own hands stay clean," he muttered to himself. Elsewhere, tension filled the operating room. Carsen worked with steely focus, his movements exact and unwavering. Maia observed in silence, absorbing every detail, storing away what she learned. Almost nine hours had slipped by since the surgery began, and still there was no sign of it ending.

For the first time, Maia was experiencing how demanding surgery was on a doctor's stamina. But Chris was counting on her, so she forced herself to push through. She had to steady her hands, find new reserves of strength, and keep going. "We're done here. Time to start closing up." Carsen finished speaking and glanced at Maia, satisfied with her performance. He then whispered, "You, the third assistant, come see me after we're done." "Understood, Dr. Walsh." Maia gave a small nod, her focus locked on the operating table as her hands moved with practiced steadiness.

Carsen lingered nearby, his eyes drawn to the deft precision of her slender yet firm fingers. Only after a pause did he give a faint nod; then, with a moment's hesitation, he turned to leave the room. From his experience, assistants who entered the operating theater through connections rarely lasted. Most balked at the sight of blood or shrank from the demands of real surgery. Plenty of privileged youth had sought him out before, eager to claim surgical experience through family influence. Without fail, they lacked resilience, and their skills barely scratched the surface.

Maia, however, was another story-she had endured. Throughout the ten-hour brain surgery, she never faltered, never pushed aside her duties, and never uttered a single complaint. That alone went far beyond anything he had anticipated. Stay updated with galnσν.cøm Even so, Carsen kept his judgment in check. Accepting Maia as his apprentice was no simple matter. He needed more time to weigh her character. Lenny's endorsement mattered, yet Carsen knew exactly how much responsibility came with such a decision. A surgeon wrestled with death itself, clawing lives back from its cold grasp.

Each cut of the scalpel balanced on the edge between survival and tragedy. For that reason, hesitation and carelessness had no place in the operating room. Even Carsen, with all his renown, sometimes lost patience despite his skill. Every procedure felt like crossing a razor's edge with no safety net. The thought of mentoring an unprepared apprentice was a risk that would steal his sleep. Carsen stepped out of the surgical wing, the overhead lamps stretching long shadows across his exhausted frame.

Surgeries often drained the lead surgeon of physical strength, and it wasn't unheard of for doctors to burn out under the intense pressure of surgery. . . .